Detection of and response to catastrophic events traditionally relies on public emergency detection and reporting sensor networks, such as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and Emergency Alert System. However, such public infrastructure is designed specifically with certain needs in mind—namely, public safety and alert notification and may not be optimized for other uses. Further, underlying data gathered by public systems may not be made publically available in a useful format. Still further, public infrastructure may be underfunded, which may lead to incomplete data coverage with respect to geographical areas of interest and/or detectable event types. There is therefore a need for an improved system for detecting and responding to catastrophic events.